This invention relates to a sleeping aid for an infant, and particularly to a cushioned nestling barrier against which the infant may snuggle.
Infants placed in a crib to sleep often will exhibit, apparently instinctively, an urge to seek a side or corner of the crib to nestle and press against with their head, before sleeping, because they long for the comfort and security of close head confinement. Such a self-cradling urge may be associated with prenatal environment, and is termed herein, "nestling instinct." If crib pads are not installed on the sides of the crib, or if the infant is placed on a bed without sides, the infant may squirm and creep to the edge and fall from the bed or become wedged between the vertical members of the crib rails while attempting to satisfy the nestling instinct. Most authorities agree that satisfying an infant's natural preference for a comfortable sleep position is better than trying to establish or force another particular position advocated in the infant literature.